^ Songs 




Class 

Book 

CopyrightN^.. 



Ci)EffiIGHT DEPOSIT. 



HEART SONGS AND 
HOME SONGS 



BOOKS OF POEMS 

BY 

DENIS A. McCarthy 



A ROUND OF RIMES 
VOICES FROM ERIN 
HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 
$ i.oo net each 



HEART SONGS AND 
HOME SONGS 



BY 



DENIS A. McCarthy 



in on-refer T 




awVAD ♦ OHS 



BOSTON 

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 

1916 



,.^ 






Copyright, iQi6, 
By Little, Brown, and Company. 



All rights reserved 
Published, September, 1916 



Korteooti Press 

Set up and electrotyped by J. S. Gushing Co., Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 

Presswork by S, J, Parkhill & Co., Boston, Mass., U.S.A. 

'// • 



SEP 12 1916 






r^ 



DEDICATED 



First of all to Ruphine and Rufina — and then to the 
many others whose lives have touched mine, and who 
have helped me to live these poems and to write them 



PREFACE 

The publication of this collection of my more 
recent verse is due in no small degree to the fact 
that I am constantly receiving inquiries as to where 
certain poems of mine may be found. Wherever I 
give readings from my own verses someone is almost 
sure to ask me what book contains a poem especially 
liked. 

In many cases I am able to refer inquirers to 
" A Round of Rimes " and " Voices from Erin ", my 
already published volumes ; but as often as not the 
poems asked for are not to be found in either of 
those books. Hence the present collection, con- 
taining most of the verses written since my last book 
was published. 

I take this occasion to thank the press and public 
for the cordial welcome given to "A Round of 
Rimes" and "Voices from Erin." If the present 
volume should merit and meet like favor, I shall be 
satisfied. 

fviil 



PREFACE 

Many of the poems printed here were originally 
written for such publications as the Youth's Com- 
panion, the New York Sun, the Ave Maria, the Con- 
gregationalist, the Catholic World, the Churchman, 
the Christian Endeavor World, and the Rosary 
Magazine. To all these, as well as to the manage- 
ment of the paper with which I am myself connected 
editorially, the Sacred Heart Review of Boston, I 
am grateful for permission to use such verses. 

DENIS A. McCarthy. 

June 14, 1916. 



[ viii ] 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

"America First" i 

Banner of America 3 

The Dream of Columbus 5 

America to Her Children 10 

The Song of the Foreign-born . . . . 12 

Take Courage ... 14 

The Old Elm . . 16 

God's Poet . . 20 

The Land Where Hate Should Die . .. .21 

Count Your Blessings . 23 

The Poor Man's Daily Bread ..... 25 

Help a Fellow Forward !...... 27 

The "Down and Out" 29 

Sea Dreams 31 

True Knighthood 33 

The Bells of Christmas 34 

Love beside the Fire 36 

fix! 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

My Native Skies 38 

Love Inexpressible 39 

Brownie 40 

Love and Content 41 

The Month of Remembrance 43 

Home-going 45 

Thirty Years After 47 

St. Brigid 50 

The Leprechaun 55 

The Little Town o' Carrick 58 

The River and the Song 60 

Ballyknockin 63 

,The "Quareness" of the World .... 65 

" Living Out " 67 

When Ireland's Dream Comes True .... 70 

Mother 72 

May 74 

And Didst Thou Deem ? 75 

The Shepherds . 76 

The Lamb He Sought 78 

Our Lady of the Trenches ..... 80 

A Boy Forever 82 

The Childher 84 

Signs of Spring 88 

Fanny Fuss-and-Feathers 90 

The Nice Man 92 



[x] 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Daddies and Laddies 94 

Little Lady Wide-Awake 95 

The Sad Poor Little Faces 97 

Robin Goodfellow 99 

Playing Bear 102 

Paste Pot and Shears 104 

The Newspaper Poet 106 

Spring on Boston Common 108 

A Last Word no 



[xi] 



HEART SONGS AND 
HOME SONGS 

'' America First " 

\T7HATEVER the shores that your forefathers 
hailed from, 

Whatever the flags that they fought for afar, 
Whatever the lands that yourselves may have 
sailed from, 

To-day you must cherish the land where you are. 
To-day you are sons of this Nation of nations, 

Untroubled by war and its spirit accurst ; 
So, guarding your souls against racial temptations, 

Let this be your motto: "America first!" 

This Nation of ours every people has greeted. 
Has welcomed them in to partake of her cheer; 

And even the humblest, despised and defeated. 
Have felt themselves men when they found them- 
selves here. 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

The victims of systems and dynasties royal 

With her have found freedom, their dreams to 
fulfill, 

And surely such hearts will not now be disloyal 
To her and her spirit of peace and good-will. 

God keep from our shores the dread issue of battle ; 

God keep from our country the curse we abhor. 
They speak not the mind of the Nation who prattle 

So lightly of plunging the land into war. 
But if, proving futile our peaceful endeavor, 

The tempest of war on her borders should burst — 
Then, then, whatsoever your race, you must never 

Forget the great watchword, "America first!" 



[2] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Banner of America 

OANNER of America! Oh, banner of the 
"^^ west-land ! 

Banner of a nation great and generous and young ! 
Banner of a land we deem the dearest and the best 
land, 
Lights eternal be the stars that shine your folds 
among ! 

Banner of America ! Oh, banner of the mountains ! 
Banner of the prairie-lands outspreading lone and 
far! 
Banner of the mighty streams, the lakes, the falls, 
the fountains — 
Love to you, and greeting, every stripe and every 
star! 

Banner of America ! Oh, banner of the cowboys ! 

Banner of the pioneers that break the virgin soil. 
Banner of the country-bred, the reapers and the 
plough-boys — 
None to you more loyal than the sons who watch 
and toil. 

Banner of America! Oh, banner of the street- 
folk— 

[3] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Are they lost in trafficking, in selfish plot and 
plan? 
Nay, let danger threaten you, and, squalid folk 
or neat folk. 
Banner of the roaring mart, they'll answer to a 
man! 

Banner of America ! O banner of the people ! 

In the love we bear you let all class distinction die. 
Wave from towr'ing city spire or tiny village steeple. 

Every eye is glad to see your splendor in the sky ! 

Banner of America ! Oh, gonfalon of glory ! 

Many a soldier son for you has suffered death's 
eclipse, 
Many a sailor lad whose name is lost to song or 
story. 
Gladly gave his life to see you shine above the 
ships ! 

Banner of a freedom that the centuries have sighed 
for, 
Banner of a land that gives the soaring spirit 
scope, 
Ever-sacred symbol of a dream that men have died 
for. 
Wave above a nation where the humblest heart 
may hope ! 

[4] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Dream of Columbus 

[Written for the unveiling of the Columbus Memorial, 
Washington, D.C., and read by the author at the banquet 
which closed the unveiling exercises, June 8, 191 2. ] 

BEYOND the wisest wit of man, 
Beyond his power to peer or scan, 
God shapes his own enduring plan. 

How vast soe'er to us may seem 

The reach of some stupendous scheme, 

God's issue far outruns the dream. 

God stirs the dreamer to aspire, 
He fills his bosom with the fire 
Of lofty hope and large desire ; 

But greater than the dreamer's thought. 
And farther than the goal he sought, 
God's mighty purposes are wrought. 



What grander vision ever woke 
Man's spirit with its master-stroke 
Than that which on Columbus broke — 

[5] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

When first God planted in his breast 

The seed of that divine unrest 

Which sought the East but found the West ! 

When, moved by sagas old and quaint, 
Still lingering like echoes faint, 
Of Viking bold and Sailor-saint, 

He mused upon their olden tale. 

And dreamed some day to spread his sail 

Before the westward-moving gale ; 

Until, where Eastern planets shone. 
His ship should haply come upon 
The golden realm of Prester John ; 

Until — O, glorious day to be ! — 
Adventuring forth in manhood free, 
He solved the mystery of the sea ! 



The dream close-wedded to his will 
Long years of failure could not kill — 
More steadfast did they make him still. 

He heard the cackling mirth of fools, 
(Of nobles the ignoble tools) 
He bore the scathing scorn of schools, 
[6] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Yet could not from his quest be turned — 
The fire within that blazed and burned 
All doubt defied, all danger spurned. 

Until at last with ships and men 
They saw him sail beyond their ken, 
Nor deemed he'd e'er return again. 

''He goes," they said, "on errand blind!" — 
We know that he went forth to find 
A Land of Promise for mankind ! 



Ambition's many-colored flame 

Before him shone — worth, wealth and fame, 

A princely place, a noble name — 

The stalwart sailor's manly pride. 
The scholar's reputation wide — 
All these he saw, and more beside. 

Yea, more — for, ever as he dreamed, 
Religion's light about him streamed. 
Its sacred symbol o'er him gleamed. 

New provinces, new power for Spain 

He fain would find, but still more fain 

New realms where Christ the Lord should reign ! 

[7] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

'Twas thus Columbus dreamed, 'twas thus 
His spirit strong, adventurous, 
When sailors murmured, mutinous, — 

Or when, as day on day went by, 
And naught appeared but sea and sky. 
His own resolve was like to die, — 

O'ercame the danger from without, 
O'ercame the deadly inner doubt. 
Put all his spirits' foes to rout. 

For, in the sky that o'er him bent, 
God's vision still before him went. 
The holy hope, the high intent. 

And, thus sustained, his course he kept, 
Until his eye, that rarely slept 
But still the wide horizon swept. 

Beheld, as he the darkness scanned, 

A light — a light ! — a blazing brand ! — 

And there, thank God, at last was land ! 



Beyond the widest reach of man. 
Beyond his farthest power to scan, 
God frames a farther future plan. 
[8] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

God chooses with unerring art 

The player of a noble part, 

He makes him great in brain and heart. 

He fits the actor for the role — 
But never e'en the chosen soul 
May see God's drama as a whole. 

Columbus died, or ere he learned 

His work a richer wage had earned 

Than that for which he toiled and yearned. 

For grand as was the dream he knew, 

God's vision held a vaster view — 

To make the whole world's dream come true ! 



[9] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



America to Her Children 

/CHILDREN of mine, how devoted I see you 
^ are! 

Children of mine, what a blessing to me you are ! 
Sending your love to the innermost heart of me. 
Thrilling and filling each fibre and part of me ! 

Fresh are your faces, and clear are the eyes of you. 
Great are your dreams although small is the size 

of you. 
Eager your thoughts — may they never bring 

shame to you ! 
Blest is the land that to-day can lay claim to you ! 



Children of mine, will you always be true to me? 
Always remember the service that's due to me? 
Treason may tempt. Will you turn from the lure 

of it? 
How can I ask, since my heart is full sure of it ? 

Children, your fathers oft suffered in gyves for 
me; 

do] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Yes, they oft gave up their lands and their lives for 

me. 
You are not called such devotion to give for me ; 
This be your part : That you love me, and Uve for 

me! 



[ii] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Song of the Foreign-Born 

/^ LAND of all lands first and best, 
^^ We pledge our love to thee. 
Whate'er the faith our sires confessed, 

Whate'er our blood may be; 
Whate'er the shrine at which we bow, 

To-day, dear land, we blend 
Our hearts and voices in the vow 

To love thee to the end. 

O land of all lands first and best, 

Wide open hast thou flung 
Thy gates to greet men sore oppressed 

Of every race and tongue. 
And surely they who know thy hand 

And all the gifts it bears 
Will never flout the gen'rous land 

That shelters them and theirs. 

O land of aU lands first and best, — 
Come peace or conflict dread, 

Thy sons will bravely bear the test, 
Wherever born or bred. 

[12] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Old racial cries, old racial ties, 
For them will cease to be, 

And, over all, the thought will rise 
Of thee and only thee ! 



[13 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Take Courage 

XXZHEN you read about the trouble in the mine 
and in the mill, 
When you read about the lockout and the strike ; 
When dishonor and dishonesty your morning papers 
fill 
In a way no decent citizen can like ; 
Then there comes a strong temptation to have 
doubts about the nation, 
And to fear some dark disaster in the fogs ; 
But take heart, my honest fellow, don't you show 
a streak of yellow. 
For this country is not going to the dogs ! 

When you read of rotten politics in city and in state, 
When you read of juggling justice on the bench; 
When the price of food makes leaner every day the 
poor man's plate, 
When the social muck is making quite a stench; 
Then a man may fairly wonder if there hasn't, 
crime or blunder, 
Been a monkey-wrench dropped in among the 
cogs; 

[14] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Yet a state of abject terror is a most colossal error, 
For this country is not going to the dogs ! 

For this good old ship, America, has weathered many 
a gale. 
She has sailed through many a thicker fog before, 
And her crew have learned the habit of not knowing 
how to fail, 
Howsoe'er the stormy seas around may roar ; 
She is staunch and stout and roomy, and though 
seas and skies be gloomy. 
Let us leave all coward croaking to the frogs. 
Let us face in manly fashion all the panic and the 
passion. 
For this country is not going to the dogs ! 



[15] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Old Elm 

In 191 2 an old elm, said to have been planted by one of 
the early settlers of what is now Winthrop, Massachusetts, 
was removed as having, because of its age, become a menace 
to the public. The Winthrop Improvement and Historical 
Association conceived the thought of marking by a public cele- 
bration the passing of the old tree and the planting of a new 
one near by, to continue the tradition. On this occasion 
the orator was the late Charles Francis Adams, and Mr. 
McCarthy read the following poem : 

rjERE, once upon a time, beside the sea, 

An early settler planted him a tree. 
Spring's flashing rains upon the sapling fell. 
The summer's ardent sunshine wooed it well. 
Till, waxing stronger, it might well defy 
The autumn gale and winter's freezing sky. 

Year followed year, and year by year it grew, 

And, year by year, a fuller function knew ; 

For to its leafy coverts every spring 

The wild birds came, their mating-songs to sing. 

And shall we doubt that 'neath its shelt'ring boughs 

Came human lovers to rehearse their vows ? 

[16] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

The times may change, the customs, and the art, 
They make no changes in the human heart. 

Year followed year. The tree in summer made, 
Year after year, a surely- widening shade ; 
And, year by year, its leafless limbs among 
The winter winds a deeper anthem sung. 

The years to decades turned. A century rolled, 
The stately tree stood staunchly as of old. 
New times, new faces and new manners came — 
The settler's centuried elm was still the same. 
Each generation played its part, and then 
The stage of life was cleared for other men. 
The tree, unchanged save that it grander grew, 
Beheld their entrance and their exit too. 

Year followed year. Another century passed, 

Another hundred years of changes vast. 

The olden rulership of kings outworn, 

Upon this soil a nation had been born, 

And strong young souls, politically free. 

Already dreamed of greater things to be. 

No longer only to one racial source 

They traced the country's genius, fire and force. 

For now all races of the world began 

To make our shore the merging-place of man, 

[17] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

And e'en this sea-girt and secluded place 
Must feel the impulse of a newer race. 

Year followed year ; until at last to-day, 
Stricken with age and sunken in decay, 
This tree that saw our settlement begun, 
That saw the settlers vanish one by one, 
Itself must pass where leaves no longer stir. 
And be accounted with the things that were. 

And so to-day, O venerable tree. 

We gather here to say farewell to thee ; 

And plant another sapling in thy stead. 

Another tree that may uplift its head, 

And spread abroad full many a leafy bough. 

And live and thrive for centuries even as thou ! 

Thou sawest Freedom flourish in thy time 
From small beginnings unto glorious prime ; 
The straitened ways the early settlers knew 
Thou sawest widen into ways more true ; 
Full many a cloud thou sawest fleet away 
Before the sunlight of a larger day. 
As 'round thee gathering came the newer flock. 
As once the children of the older stock. 

So runs the world. Now, may this other tree 
In future years still greater progress see. 
[i8] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Till every false suspicious fear is fled, 

And every dark, deforming doubt is dead, 

And children of all races with one voice 

In this sea-circled place may still rejoice, 

When, centuries hence, perhaps, they come to pay 

Their tribute to the tree we plant to-day ! 



[19] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



God's Poet 

(^ OD filled his heart with sweetness, 
^^ God thrilled his soul with song, 
God made him tender with the weak, 

And fearless with the strong ; 
God gave him grace to choose the right. 

And power to smite the wrong. 

God touched his life with sadness, 
God burdened him with care, 

God humbled him and hindered him, 
Lest he too rashly dare ; 

But always God sustained him 
And saved him from despair. 

And sent him forth, a teacher. 
The word of truth to bring, 

A prophet and a preacher, 
A leader and a king — 

God-sent and God-anointed, 
His mission this : To sing ! 



[ 20 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Land Where Hate Should Die 

'T'HIS is the land where hate should die — 
•^ No feuds of faith, no spleen of race, 
No darkly brooding fear should try 

Beneath our flag to find a place. 
Lo ! every people here has sent 

Its sons to answer freedom's call ; 
Their lifeblood is the strong cement 

That builds and binds the nation's wall. 

This is the land where hate should die — 

Though dear to me my faith and shrine, 
I serve my country well when I 

Respect the creeds that are not mine. 
He little loves his land who'd cast 

Upon his neighbor's word a doubt, 
Or cite the wrongs of ages past 

From present rights to bar him out. 

This is the land where hate should die — 
This is the land where strife should cease, 

Where foul, suspicious fear should fly 
Before the light of love and peace. 

[21] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Then let us purge from poisoned thought 
That service to the state we give, 

And so be worthy as we ought 

Of this great land in which we live ! 



[ 22 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Count Your Blessings 

"LJAVE you sorrows? You must bear them 

Without murmur, without moan ; 
Think not you may shirk or share them, 

Keep them for yourself alone. 
But if you have joys — oh, show them ! 
Broadcast to the winds go throw them, 
Seed-like through the world go sow them, 

And be glad when they are sown ! 

Have you trials ? You must face them 
Without grumble, without groan ; 

Burdens? Then be sure to place them 
On no shoulders save your own. 

But if you have aught that's cheerful. 

Give it forth to calm the fearful, 

Give it forth to soothe the tearful, 
Sing it, ring it, make it known ! 

Thus it is the noble-hearted 

Live until their day is flown ; 
Thus their courage is imparted 

As a bugle-blast is blown ; 

[23] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Thus it is they help and heighten, 
Thus they lift and thus they lighten, 
Thus it is they bless and brighten 
Souls less steadfast than their own ! 



24 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Poor Man's Daily Bread 

"^TOT only there where jeweled vestments blaze, 
-^-^ And princely prelates bow before Thy 

shrine, 
Where myriads line the swept and garnished ways 

Through which is borne Thy Majesty Divine — 
O Jesus of the ever loving heart, 

Not only there Thou art ! 

But where the lowliest church its cross uplifts 

Above the city's sordidness and sin ; 
Where all unheeded human wreckage drifts 

And drowns amid the foulness and the din — 
There, too, anear the very gates of hell, 

O Saviour, dost Thou dwell ! 

Oh, meet it is that round Thy altar thrones, 
Thy highest priests should ministering throng 

With silken robe, with gold and precious stones, 
With solemn chant and loud triumphant song : 

What beauty that the world could give would be 
Too beautiful for Thee? 

[25] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

And yet to those that work with grimy hands 
And sweaty brows in ditches and in drains, 

Thou comest with a love that understands 
Their labor ill requited, and their pains. 

Who knows so well as Thou what they endure, 
O Father of the poor ? 

And so, deep-hid in many a city street. 
Or far where lonely workers break the soil, 

Are shrines where Thou, the Merciful, dost meet, 
In love's embrace, the weary ones that toil. 

For them Thy hospitable board is spread. 
With Thee, Thy very self, their Daily Bread ! 



[26] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Help a Fellow Forward ! 

"LJ ELP a fellow forward, man, 
"■■ ■*■ Help a fellow all you can. 
When he's out of step and slow, 
Courage gone, and can't say, "No;" 
When despair comes sneaking in ; 
When he feels he cannot win ; 
And you know, a little bit 
More of that and he must quit — 
Will you, heedless of his pHght, 
Forge ahead with all your might? 
Will you take the lead, nor mind 
This poor struggler left behind? 
Nay, I'm sure you'll stop awhile, 
Stop to help him with a smile, 
Stop to lend a hand to him 
Who is up against the grim 
Problem that we all must face 
Somewhere in life's eager race. 

Help a fellow forward ! Say 
Something cheering, something gay, 
Something that will stir his soul, 

[27] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Wake his will and self-control. 
Bravest hearts will sometimes fail, 
Strongest spirits sometimes quail ; 
And a friendly word of cheer 
May transform a whole career. 
Have you not yourself been stirred 
In the past by some good word 
To a stronger effort still 
As you climbed the weary hill ? 
So, whene'er you see another 
Losing hope — well, he's a brother, 
And a word, a deed, is due 
To that brother-man from you. 
Help him ! It is God's own plan ! 
Help a fellow all you can ! 



[28] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The "Down and Out'' 

npHE man who wins in the fight for fame, 

Who wins in the war for gold, 
The welkin rings with his lauded name 

Wherever his deeds are told. 
Not mine to jeer when I hear him hailed ; 

I'm proud of his heart so stout — 
But what of the fellow who tried and failed, 

The fellow that's ''down and out"? 

Shall nought be said for the man who tried 

The goal of his hopes to gain ? 
Who faced the battle with patient pride 

And fought though the fight was vain ? 
Whose spirit in one weak moment quailed, 

Who fell at the last redoubt — 
Ah, many a hero heart has failed. 

So here's to the ''down and out" ! 

The man who wins, oh, honor him well. 

And give him the praise that's due. 
But don't forget the other who fell 

[29] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Ere ever his dreams came true ; 
Yes, honor the man whose will prevailed, 

Who baffled despair and doubt — 
But give one thought to the man who failed, 

The fellow that's "down and out" ! 



30] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Sea Dreams 

r\ PLACE of wonder 
^^^ Too deep for speech ! 
The great waves thunder 

Along the beach. 
What force they roll with 

Against the rocks ! 
How thrills my soul with 

Their mighty shocks ! 

O place of splendor — 

How vast the view ! 
My glance I send o'er 

Wide leagues of blue, 
From where these highlands 

The surges spurn 
To where far islands 

To opals turn. 

O world of wonders ! 

O world of peace ! 
Man's crimes and blunders - 

When will they cease ? 

[31] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

The fading laurels 

For which he tries, 
The paltry quarrels 

In which he dies ! 

O world of beauty ! 

When will he see 
The blessed duty 

Of unity? 
The blessed vision 

Of world-wide good — 
The peace elysian 

Of brotherhood ! 



[32] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



True Knighthood 

AH, nothing more knightly or noble than this is: 
"^ To think what is true despite hatred and 

hisses ; 
To speak what is just despite jesting or jeering, 
To do what is right without falt'ring or fearing. 

Ah, nothing than this is more knightly or noble : 
To help and to heal the sad spirit in trouble ; 
To hearten and cheer the poor comrade distressful, 
And rally him back to a battle successful. 

Ah, nothing's more noble than this, or more knightly : 
To bear one's own burden serenely and lightly. 
To hide one's own wound when its pain is the 

keenest, 
And smile when one's joys are the least and the 

leanest. 

Ah, nothing's more knightly or noble than living 
To spend one's self, Christlike, in loving and giving, 
Clean-hearted within and kind-hearted to others — 
Is this not the seal of True Knighthood, my brothers ! 

[33] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Bells of Christmas 

npHEY come to me at Christmas - 
■■' The dreams of other years, 
Their tender touch unseaUng 

The fount of joy and tears ; 
And grief with joy commingled 

Within my bosom swells 
When, calling, calling, calling, 

I hear the Christmas bells ! 

The merry bells of Christmas, 
The cheery bells of Christmas, 
How magical their voices. 
The happy Christmas bells ! 

They come to me at Christmas — 

Old ghosts from out the past. 
The gracious, God-sent friendships 

Whose bonds still hold me fast. 
They fill with forms and faces 

My spirit's silent cells — 
The dreams that come at Christmas 

Responsive to the bells. 

[34] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

The merry bells of Christmas, 
The cheery bells of Christmas, 
They bring me back old friendships. 
The happy Christmas bells ! 

He comes to me at Christmas — 

The Man Who died for men — 
A tiny, tender Baby, 

He comes to me again. 
And as I kneel before Him, 

The faith within me wells. 
That stirred whene'er in childhood 

I heard the Christmas bells. 

O joyful bells of Christmas ! 
O happy bells of Christmas ! 
My faith in God you strengthen, 
O blessed Christmas bells! 



[35 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Love Beside the Fire 

'"I^HE pride of autumn fades away on wooded 

vale and hill, 
The days are growing grayer and the nights are 

growing chill, 
Then, hey for home, and happy eves, and joys that 

never tire ! 
We'll face the worst that winter brings, with love 

beside the fire ! 

O, sweet as youth the springtime was, and fair 

were summer's bowers. 
And gaily glowed the pageantry of autumn's golden 

hours ! 
With sadness from the hills we saw their sunlit 

days retire. 
But winter brings us back again to love beside the 

fire! 

So bolt the door against the blast, and start the 

cheerful blaze, 
And let us sit, sweetheart of mine, and talk of olden 

days, 

[36] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Of days when first you woke in me the dream of 

young desire, 
When yet I hardly dared to hope for love beside the 

fire! 



[37] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



My Native Skies 

T?OR years an exile, fortune-tost, 
-*- I mourned my native skies, long lost. 
And then, dear heart, in your deep eyes 
I found again my native skies ! 



I38] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Love Inexpressible 

TF I could only speak, dear, 
> The love that's in my heart ! 
But, ah, the words are weak, dear, 

And will not do their part. 
My swiftest measures halt, dear, 

Unsteady and untrue. 
And all my art's at fault, dear, 

To tell my love for you. 

If I could only speak, dear. 

My happy heart's excess ! 
But vain — in vain I seek, dear, 

My passion to express. 
Full many a pretty thing, dear, 

I've known my rhymes to do. 
But why — why don't they sing, dear, 

My tender love for you ? 



[39] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Brownie 

TV TAN Y girls are stately, many girls are tall ; 
■^^^ I admire them greatly, I admire them all ; 
Girls in the East there be and girls in the West, 
But my little Brownie is the girl I love the best ! 

Darkly brown the eyes of her, darkly brown her 

hair; 
Dainty is the size of her — not an inch to spare ; 
But she's tall enough to reach the heart within my 

breast ; 
And my little Brownie is the girl I love the best ! 

Many girls are queenly, many girls are proud, 
Sailing by serenely, heads above the crowd — 
Heads whose nod would make a man obey their 

least behest. 
But my little Brownie is the girl I love the best ! 

Sunny are the ways of her, sunny is her smile ; 
Winning every phase of her, winning every wile ; 
Tall and stately maids may rule the world from east 

to west, 
But my little Brownie is the girl I love the best ! 

[40] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Love and Content 

/^H, they that dwell in palaces and dine on dainty 

^^^ fare, 

Their souls, sweetheart, are often steeped in dark- 
ness and despair, 

For never yet the door was made, however richly 
wrought. 

Could shut the hound of sorrow from the fated 
hearth he sought. 

And never casement yet could lure, however wide 
and high. 

The blessed beam of happiness from doom's relent- 
less sky ; 

And oh, the richest, finest food on snowy table 
spread 

Is only dust and ashes when the light of love is fled. 

Oh, they that dwell in palaces, sweetheart, are 

often sad. 
Because they've somehow missed the joy that 

makes our life so glad ; 
And oft, I ween, they'd barter dainty fare and 

lordly dome 

[41 1 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

To know the happiness that dwells within our 

lowly home ; 
For 'tisn't stately palaces all beautified by art, 
And 'tisn't lavish luxury can satisfy the heart, 
And 'tisn't wine or wantonness can warm the 

spirit cold, 
And 'tisn't wealth can gain the gift that's neither 

bought nor sold. 

Oh, they that dwell in palaces, the softest garments 

wear. 
But oft the silken robe, sweetheart, is thickly lined 

with care. 
And oft the shining jewel on the shapely arm or 

hand 
Becomes a baser fetter than the convict's iron 

band. 
So let me not be envious, sweetheart, of all their 

gear. 
But prize the rarer, fairer gift I hold in you, my 

dear. 
And thank the gracious God Who, though our lives 

were leagues apart, 
Has brought us twain together, soul of soul and 

heart of heart ! 



42] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Month of Remembrance 

A LL in the dark November 
"^^ The sad winds seem to sigh : 
''Remember, ah, remember, 

The friends who once were nigfi ! 
The friends you loved, remember, 

Who now have passed away" — 
All in the dark November 

The sad winds seem to say ! 

And are our hearts forgetful 

Of those, our dear, our dead? 
And are our tears regretful 

For them no longer shed ? 
Is love a fading ember 

That quickly dies away ? — 
''Remember, ah, remember," 

The sad winds seem to say. 

The summer's sway is ended, 
The autumn's glory flown, 

The latest leaf unfended 
Along the blast is blown ; 

[43] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Soon, soon, shall pass November, 

But ere its days go by, 
"Remember, ah, remember," 

Its sad winds seem to sigh ! 



44 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Home-Going 

A LL day, all day, across the bay 
^^ The winds blew fair and free ; 
All day with traihng plumes of smoke 

The ships put out to sea ; 
All day my spirit followed far 

O'er leagues and leagues of foam 
To hail the happy headlands and 

The verdant vales of home ! 

All day, all day, across the bay 

I saw the ships go on. 
Till in the sun the trailing smoke 

A golden glory shone. 
"Ah, so," I cried, "when I sail out 

To scenes beloved of old, 
The clouds that hang about my heart 

Will all be turned to gold ! " 

Then blow, ye winds, across the sea. 

And swiftly sail, ye ships. 
And let me seek the olden land 

Of loyal hearts and lips. 

[45] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

I'll find things strange, I'll find a change, 
Since first I fared to roam — 

But O, the happy headlands and 
The verdant vales of home ! 



46] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Thirty Years After 

/^H, Ireland is the pleasant place when youth is in 

^^^ the veins, 

'Tis pleasant when the sun shines, and 'tis pleasant 
when it rains, 

For, sure, the eyes of youth can pierce the thickest 
rain and mist 

And see the distant mountains by the kindly sun- 
shine kissed. 

Faith, every hill's a mountain there, and every 

bush a tree. 
And every stream's a river wide, and every lake's 

a sea j 
And every heart's a fount of hope, and faith and 

love and truth ; 
Oh, Ireland is the pleasant place for them that 

have the youth. 

Oh, Ireland is the merry place when heads and hearts 
are young, 

[47I 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

'Tis there the wayside dances are, 'tis there the 
songs are sung, 

'Tis there the wildest music is, and there the mad- 
dest mirth. 

And oh, 'tis there's the softest speech was ever 
heard on earth. 

Ay, sure 'tis there, I'm thinking, that the sweetest 

words are said. 
And over there's the blarney that would turn the 

wisest head. 
And tales of yore and fairy lore and jesting full of 

joy; 

Oh, Ireland is the merry place when one is but a 
boy. 

But Ireland is the lonesome place, a strange and 

eerie land, 
When after years of exile on its shores again you 

stand ; 
Ah, where is all the graciousness, and where the 

golden light. 
And where are all the hawthorn blooms that used 

to be so white ? 

And oh, the skies so gray and grim that used to be 
so blue, 

[48] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

And oh, the rain that seems to weep for friends that 

once you knew ! 
Ah me, the change ! Ah me, how strange, to find 

old Ireland sad, 
That used to be so happy to a happy-hearted lad ! 



[49] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



St. Brigid 

A legend of " The Mary of the Gael " 

T3RIGID, the daughter of Duffy, she wasn't 

■*-^ Hke other young things, 

Dreaming of lads for her lovers, and twirling her 

bracelets and rings ; 
Combing and coiling and curling her hair that was 

black as the sloes, 
Painting her lips and her cheeks that were ruddy 

and fresh as the rose. 
Ah, 'twasn't Brigid would waste all her days in 

such f olHes as these — 
Christ was the Lover she worshiped for hour after 

hour on her knees ; 
Christ and his Church and his poor, — and 'twas 

many a mile that she trod 
Serving the loathsomest lepers that ever were 

stricken by God. 

Brigid, the daughter of Duffy, she sold all her 
jewels and gems, 

[so] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Sold all her finely-spun robes that were braided with 

gold to the hems; 
Kept to her back but one garment, one dress that 

was faded and old, 
Gave all her goods to the poor who were famished 

with hunger and cold. 
Ah, 'twasn't Brigid would fling at the poor the 

hard word like a stone — 
Christ the Redeemer she saw in each wretch that 

was ragged and lone ; 
Every wandering beggar who asked for a bite or a 

bed 
Knocked at her heart like the Man who had nowhere 

to shelter his head. 

Brigid, the daughter of Duffy, she angered her 

father at last. 
"Where are your dresses, my daughter? Crom 

Cruach ! You wear them out fast ! 
Where are the chains that I bought you all wrought 

in red gold from the mine ? 
Where the bright brooches of silver that once on 

your bosom would shine?" 
Ah, but 'twas he was the man that was proud of 

his name and his race. 
Proud of their prowess in battle and proud of their 

deeds in the chase ! 

[si] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Knew not the Christ, the pale God whom the 

priests from afar had brought in, 
Held to the old Gaelic gods that were known to 

Cuchullin and Finn. 

Brigid, the daughter of Duffy, made answer. "O 

father," said she, 
"What is the richest of raiment, and what are 

bright jewels to me? 
Lepers of Christ must I care for, the hungry of 

Christ must I feed ; 
How can I walk in rich robes when his people and 

mine are in need?" 
Ah, but 'twas she didn't fear for herself when he 

blustered and swore, 
Meekly she bowed when he ordered his chariot 

brought to the door ; 
Meekly obeyed when he bade her get in at the 

point of his sword. 
Knowing whatever her fate she'd be safe with her 

Lover and Lord. 

Brigid, the daughter of Duffy, was brought to the 

court of the King, 
(Monarch of Leinster, MacEnda, whose praises 

.- the poets would sing). 
"Hither, O monarch," said Duffy, "I've come with 

a maiden to sell ; 

[52] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Buy her and bind her to bondage — she's needing 

such discipUne well!" 
Ah, but 'twas wise was the King. From the maid 

to the chieftain he turned ; 
Mildness he saw in her face, in the other's 'twas 

anger that burned ; 
**This is no bondmaid, I'll swear it, O chief, but a 

girl of your own. 
Why sells the father the flesh of his flesh and the 

bone of his bone?" 

Brigid, the daughter of Duffy, was mute while her 

father replied — 
"Monarch, this maid has no place as the child of 

a chieftain of pride. 
Beggars and wretches whose wounds would the 

soul of a soldier affright, 
Sure, 'tis on these she is wasting my substance 

from morning till night ! " 
Ah, but 'twas bitter was Duffy; he spoke like a 

man that was vexed. 
Musing, the monarch was silent; he pondered 

the question perplexed. 
"Maiden," said he, "if 'tis true, as I've just from 

your father heard tell. 
Might it not be, as my bondmaid, you'd waste 

aU my substance as well ? " 

[53] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Brigid, the daughter of Duffy, made answer. "O 

Monarch," she said, 
"Had I the wealth from your coffers, and had I 

the crovwn from your head — 
Yea, if the plentiful yield of the broad breasts 

of Erin were mine, 
All would I give to the people of Christ who in 

poverty pine." 
Ah, but 'twas then that -the King felt the heart in 

his bosom upleap, 
''I am not worthy," he cried, "such a maiden in 

bondage to keep ! 
Here's a king's sword for her ransom, and here's 

a king's word to decree 
Never to other than Christ and his poor let her 

servitude be!" 



[54] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Leprechaun* 

/^ summer is the time to see the Httle leprechaun ; 
^^* He haunts the Irish hedges at the very peep 

o' dawn ; 
You hear a Httle hammer going rap-a-tap-a-tap — 
And then you know he's close at hand, the foxy 

fairy chap. 

And, faith, the little leprechaun has knowledge of 

a place 
Where lies a crock o' fairy gold — the hoarding of 

his race ; 
And, if you keep your eye on him, you have him 

in your power, 
And he must tell you where 'tis hid, that golden 

fairy dower. 

^ The leprechaun is a fairy shoemaker eagerly sought by 
people who like to get rich quick. If the mortal who meets 
him will only keep his eyes fixed upon the fairy, the little chap 
will have to disclose the hiding place of a certain crock of 
gold. But the leprechaun is so full of tricks to make people 
look away from him, that few of those who have met him have 
got rich at his expense. 

[ssl 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

But, ah! beware the leprechaun, for he has tricks 

to blind. 
And if you look away from him he'll vanish like 

the wind. 
And sure 'tis I that know it, for I flung away my 

chance 
Of ever being wealthy by one fatal, fleeting glance. 

For once at early morning, ere the sun had drunk 

the dew, 
I came upon the leprechaun at work upon a shoe ; 
At work upon a fairy shoe, the crabbed little elf, 
And, O, so very busy that he didn't see myself. 

"Good morning to your honor, sir," all flustered 

like, I said. 
"Good morning kindly, sir," said he, and hardly 

raised his head. 
'Twas coolly he replied to me, betraying no surprise ; 
In fact, I thought I saw a roguish twinkle in his 

eyes. 

"'Tis early you are up," said I, not knowing what 

to say. 
"Ah, yes," said he, "but that's because I'm rather 

rushed to-day. 
But, though I rise so early, yet I honestly declare 
I'm never up so early as my neighbor over there." 

[56] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

With that he jerked his head a bit, and, thinking 
to behold 

Another fairy cobbler with another crock of gold, 

I looked away a moment — in that moment he was 
gone. 

And vanished all my fortune with the tricksy lepre- 
chaun ! 



[57I 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Little Town o' Carrick 

TN the little town o' Carrick, sure, there isn't 
much to see ; 
If you're wantin' style an' splendhor, faith, you'd 
betther go elsewhere ; 
But the pleasant face will meet you, 
An' the cheery word will greet you, 
An' a bigger-hearted people you will never find 
than there. 

In the little town o' Carrick, sure, there isn't much 
to do; 
The atthractions of the city, 'tis in vain for them 
you'll seek ; 
But the people there would pity 
What is laughed at in the city, 
An' there's naught to thrip the thrav'ler there, 
an' naught to wound the weak. 

In the little town o' Carrick, sure, the houses aren't 
high; 
They don't build them forty stories (more or 
less), as they do here ; 

[58] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

But 'tis not the hoighth of houses 
That the exiled spirit rouses, 
An' the low gray walls o' Carrick to her distant 
ones are dear. 

An' the ould Main Street o' Carrick, sure, it isn't 
like Broadway ; 
'Tisn't choked with thrucks of thraffick an' with 
limousines of pride ; 
You can cross it at your leisure. 
An' you'll always find with pleasure 
That, whichever way you cross it, there's a 
friend on aither side. 

Ah, the Httle town o' Carrick, sure, it isn't much 
compared 
With the mighty marts of commerce filled with 
every kind of art ; 
But I'm tellin' you this minute 
That there's something noble in it, 
An' the little town o' Carrick will be always near 
my heart ! 



[S9l 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The River and the Song 

T ONG, long ago when I was young, 
-^ 'Twas many a song my mother sung, 
'Tis many a strain comes back to me 
First heard and loved beside her knee. 
And one old song of all the rest, 
That stirred or soothed my infant breast. 
Was sung to such a plaintive air 
It set me weeping unaware. 

Yet, though the teardrops fell, 
I would not go to rest without 
The song in which she ^ang about 
*'The River Suiri 
That runs so pure 

To Carrick from Clonmel." 

Perhaps the song to me was dear 
Because I somehow seemed to hear 
Through all its words and all its tones 
The river singing o'er the stones, 

1 The River Suir, pronounced "Shure," runs through the 
Golden Vale of Tipperary, where the author was born. 

[60] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

The river singing as it flowed 
By field and wood and winding road ; 
And, oh, that song was always sad. 
However warm the world and glad. 

And yet I loved it well, 
And ever begged to hear the strain 
That ended with the old refrain : 
''The River Suir 
That runs so pure 

To Carrick from Clonmel." 

The town from which the river came 
To me was more than just a name ; 
My fervent fancy made it grand 
As any town in fairyland. 
And in my heart I yearned to trace 
The stream to that enchanted place. 
For there, methought, I'd surely spy 
The towers that kept the heavens on high, 

And wonders hard to tell. 
And there I'd see the river's birth, 
Its waters welling from the earth — 
The River Suir 
That ran so pure 

To Carrick from Clonmel. 

And oft, in fancy drifting down, 
I came again to my own town ; 
[6il 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

I passed beneath its ancient bridge, 
I pierced the distant mountain-ridge ; 
A leaf upon the current strong, 
I floated many a mile along, 
Until by Waterford I passed, 
And reached the shining seas at last 

That round old Ireland swell. 
'Twas thus I used to dream what time 
My mother sang that haunting rhyme 
About ''the Suir 
That runs so pure 

To Carrick from Clonmel." 

The world is wide, the years are long ; 
I've heard since then full many a song. 
And seen with somewhat wearied eyes 
Full many a river fall and rise. 
And many a grief my heart has felt, 
At many a new-made grave I've knelt, 
And dreams of promise once I knew 
Have proved unstable and untrue. 

And still, whate'er befell. 
The song that charmed my childish ear 
I've always heard and held it dear — 
'' The River Suir 
That runs so pure 

To Carrick from Clonmel." 

[62] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Ballyknockin 

tTERE'S to Ballyknockin and the blue skies 
"*- bendin' o'er it ! 

Here's to every hill behind and every vale before it ! 
Here's to all its streams and all its happy homes 

beside them ! 
And here's to all its friendly folk, and may God's 

grace betide them ! 

Far away from Ireland here, amid the town's com- 
motion. 

Many a time my wayward heart goes back across 
the ocean ; 

Many a time at present plan and present purpose 
mockin', 

Off it flies to haunt the scenes of blissful Bally- 
knockin ! 

God be with you, place of dreams and lovely place 

of pleasure ! 
God be with the friends whose love forevermore I'll 

treasure ! 

[63] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

God be with the days I spent with happy heart 

among them ! 
And God be with the songs of youth and those who 

sweetly sung them. 

Here's to Ballyknockin, let the skies be what they 

may, 
Blue in summer weather or in winter dark and gray ! 
Here's to Ballyknockin, be my fate whate'er it will. 
That's the place in all the world that I'll remember 

still ! 



[64] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The " Quareness " of the World 

A H, sure, 'tis quare the world is in all its years 
'^ an' days ; 
So quare the very wisest wans are moidhered wid 

its ways ! 
For life is like the wather that with childish hands 

we clasp 
To find there's naught but emptiness left lonesome 

in our grasp. 

Ah, sure 'tis quare the world is — like childher in the 

sun, 
We laugh, an' even while we laugh the sunny days 

are done, 
For toil we must, an' slave we must, since that's the 

law of life, 
But death is at the latther end of all the stress and 

sthrife. 

For well we know the finest day must ind in night 

at last ; 
The head that ruled a nation in the graveyard gloom 

is cast, 

[651 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Och, lovers say, we'll love for aye, — the year seems 

long in June, 
But age will make them wiser, an' 'tis then they'll 

change their tune. 

Ah, sure, 'tis quare the world is, so quare in all its 

ways, 
'Tis betther not be thinkin' lest it put us in a maze, 
'Tis betther just be toihn' on an' goin' here an' there, 
An' lave the Lord to solve it, but to me 'tis mortal 

quare. 



[66] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



« Living Out '' 

npHE smile of friendly faces and the clasp of 
kindly hands — 
'Tis these myself is missing from my life from day 
to day ; 
Ah, no one in America, I'm thinking, understands 
There is a sickness of the heart that can't be cured 
with pay. 
The master and the mistress — can they compre- 
hend the fret 
That makes me seem unmindful when I answer to 
their call? 
Ah, sure, 'tis mad they'd think me if they knew that 
I regret 
The little whitewashed cabin in the town of 
Glen-an-aule ! 

That lowly little cabin — sure, no wonder they 

should smile 
To think that I'd be wishing to be back in it again ! 
For here I've decent wages and the very best of 

style, 

[67] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

And over there there's nothing but the long and 

lonesome glen. 
Ay, mad they'd surely call me, could they see the 

tears that flow 
These evenings in the winter when the sky is like 

a pall. 
And in the dark'ning shadows I can see the friends 

I know 
Witliin the whitewashed cabin in the town of Glen- 

an-aule. 

They give me decent wages, and they're mindful 
of my health ; 
And, sure, 'tis not ungratefully I'd be denying 
that! 
And everything about the place betokening their 
wealth. 
And ne'er a chick nor child at all, but just the 
dog and cat. 
And yet I do be missing still the clasp of kindly 
hands. 
The sunshine of the home-love that around me 
used to fall ; 
The mother-heart I'm missing that my own heart 
understands. 
And only there I'll find it in the town of Glen-an- 
aule. 

[68] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Ah, living out is lonesome now, whatever you may 
say; 
I won't belie the strangers, but they're never like 
your own ; 
However kind the people and however fine the pay, 
'Tis hard to keep the heart from feehng desolate 
and lone. 
And often I am longing as the evening gathers in, 
And lamps begin to gUsten in the houses grim and 
tall. 
To find myself again among my own dear kith and 
kin, 
And mother's arms around me in the town of 
Glen-an-aule ! 



[69] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



When Ireland's Dream Comes True 

"IXTHEN Ireland's age-long dream comes true, 

When, after all the years 
She's worn the myrtle and the rue, 

God wipes away her tears, — 
The winged word of joy will speed 

O'er oceans broad and blue, 
And hearts around the world take heed, 

When Ireland's dream comes true. 

Yes, all around the world will run 

The sympathetic spark. 
The Frank, the Teuton and the Hun 

The thrilling word will mark ; 
For, whoso hates unrighteous laws, 

Whate'er his race or hue. 
Must wish success to Ireland's cause, 

And hail her dream come true. 

And we, whose vital stream flows straight 

From Ireland's tender heart, 
Will flout, that day, the frowning Fate 

That bids us walk apart ; 

[70] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

And feel for that dear mother-breast 
From which our Hves we drew 

A richer joy than all the rest, 

When Ireland's dream comes true. 

When Ireland's dream comes true at last, 

God grant she still may hold 
In loving mem'ry, firm and fast. 

Her exiled sons of old ; 
Fond, faithful hearts who scorned to hide 

The old love in the new — 
Who toiled for Ireland, but who died 

Ere yet her dream came true. 



[71] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Mother 

After the battle, that day, you couldn't hear yourselves 
talk any more in the trenches for the cries of the wounded. 
It was like one great, uninterrupted wail. . . . Then little by 
little silence came, as a good many of them died. What we 
heard sound longest on the battlefield, from one end to the 
other — the word "Mother!" It is always those who are 
dying who call like that ; we know that now. — Letter from 
A War Nurse. 

" IV/r OTHER !" they cry, in anguish, at the last, 
These strong young soldiers stricken unto 
death. 
''Mother ! " All sweet with mem'ries of the past. 
That name, they gasp it forth with failing breath. 

But woe for them ! No mother's hand may now, 
Howe'er so fain, the earthen pillow smooth ; 

No mother's soft caress can reach the brow, 
No mother's voice the suff'ring spirit soothe. 

So here they lie in battle's dread abyss. 
These youthful victims of the nations' wrath ; 

And each one, dying, craves his mother's kiss. 
And, friend or foe, one longing each one hath. 

[72] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Mother of Christ, although their lips may frame 
No prayer to thee, no tribute to thy power. 

When each poor lad invokes his mother's name, 
Be thou his Mother in that last dark hour ! 



73 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



May 

ly/rONTH of flowers, month of bowers, 
"^ Month of happy sunHt hours ; 

Month of azure seas reflecting azure skies that bend 
above ! 
Month of May processions twining, 
Month of fragrant altars shining, — 
Month of her who stoops to Hsten to our Htanies of 
love! 

Month of gleams, month of streams, 
Month of longings and of dreams ; 
Month of youthful eyes as tender as the skies that 
bend above ! 
Month of promise, month of presage, 
Month of Summer's sweetest message, — 
Month of her who stoops to hsten to our litanies of 
love ! 



74 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



And Didst Thou Deem ? 

A ND didst thou deem all beauty fled 
"^ Because the summer flowers were dead ? 
Behold the woods, whose splendors' blaze 
Makes beautiful the autumn days I 

And didst thou deem all joy was o'er 
Because thy youth was thine no more? 
Lo, many a blessing Heaven will shed 
In showers upon thy hoary head ! 

The God Who beautifies the earth 
At Summer's death as at its birth — 
Thy Heavenly Father, He will send 
His joys to cheer thee till the end ! 



75 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Shepherds 

OOME simple shepherds in the night 

Saw heaven open ; and the Ught 
That issues from the Eternal Throne 
Around them in the darkness shone. 
And downward floating came a throng 
Of angels with a wondrous song — 
A song that echoed through the spheres, 
A song that echoes through the years, 
A song that shook the listening sky 
With " Glory unto God on high ! " 
A choral promise from above 
Of God's eternal peace and love. 

And so revealed to simple men 
Was God's own Truth. And so again 
The lowly-hearted, such as they, 
Behold the Lord from day to day. 

Before the kingly folk and wise 
Who saw His beacon in the skies, 
And sought Him in Jerusalem, 
He chose the hinds of Bethlehem ; 

[76] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

And they were first to kneel before 
Their Infant Saviour, and adore — 
The first in simple wise to trace 
His Mother's likeness in His face ; 
The first, perhaps, to understand 
The trembling of St. Joseph's hand ; 
To pierce the meaning of his awe 
At all he was, and all he saw ; 
The first to hail with reverent word 
The coming of the Promised Lord ; 
The first within that stable dim 
To welcome and to worship Him ! 

Today God's love is just as sure ; 
The simple-hearted folk and poor 
Are His, as when a babe He lay 
Long years ago, long leagues away, 
In far Judea, and He chose 
The shepherds (out of all of those 
Who waited for His coming long) 
To hear the angels' wondrous song. 
To marvel at the Light of men 
That ne'er would sink in night again ; 
To be, though lowly, first on earth 
To hail the Saviour at His birth. 



77 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Lamb He Sought 

" OHEPHERD, shepherd of the wold, 

^ Whither dost thou hasten thus ? 
Shepherd, we command thee, hold ! 

Tell thine errand unto us ! 
We of Herod's household are. 

And we seek within this wild. 
Tidings of a mystic Star 

And a new-born kingly Child. 
Thou shalt be rewarded well 
If of these thou hast to tell !" 

*'What know I of lofty things, — 

I a shepherd of the wold ? 
What know I of courts and kings, — 

I a shepherd poor and old ? 
But I hasten ere the day 

To a stable lone and lorn. 
On a hillside far away, 

Where a little Lamb is born. 
Sirs, I pray you, let me on. 
That I find it 'fore the dawn !" 
[78] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

"Out upon thee, shepherd gray, 

BabbUng of thy calhng thus, — 
Babbhng in thy dotard way 

Of a Httle lamb to us ! 
Hie thee on thy way apace. 

Lest we lose our patience, and 
Scourge thy back and mark thy face 

With thy Lord King Herod's brand ! 
Not of little lambs we speak — 
'Tis a king, a king, we seek !" 

So the shepherd onward sped 

(Gray old man of scanty wit) 
Till he found the lonely shed 

(Flamed a bright Star over it). 
Entered through the doorway rude — 

While his being thrilled with awe, — 
And beheld a crib of wood 

And a Babe upon the straw ; 
There he bowed him to the sod. 
Worshiping the Lamb of God ! 



79] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Our Lady of the Trenches 

\X7ITHIN the gloomy trenches 
Where hideous noises stun, 
And death's dark rainfall drenches 

The gunner and the gun, — 
Behold, there stands an altar 

To Mary and her Son. 

How strange to bring her hither, 
The Virgin Full of Grace, 

Where battle-tempests wither 
The bravest of the race ! — 

But is she not their mother. 
And is not this her place ? 

These lads from hillsides heathy, 
These men from wood and wold, 

From bench and shop and smithy, 
From farm and field and fold. 

Their hearts lay hold on Jesus 
And Mary, as of old. 

And prayers they used to prattle 
In boyhood, have become 
fSol 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

A prelude to the battle 

More potent than the drum, 

And, oh, the soul repeats them 
E'en when the lips are dumb. 

And lest their spirits falter, 
And lest they fail as men. 

They raise her here an altar 
Within their darksome den, 

While waiting war's wild fury 
To burst on them again. 

And when the strong hand clenches 
In death's last grip of pain. 

Our Lady of the Trenches, 
Be thou there with the slain, 

Nor let their heart's devotion 
To thee be ail in vain ! 



8i 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



A Boy Forever 

(Charles Mannix, June ii, 19 15) 

'^rOW that the httle boy we loved is dead, 
'^ The happy and the holy life he led — 
With thoughts of this our hearts are comforted. 

Now that his soul has passed beyond our ken, 
Now that we know that in this world of men 
Never we'll see his fair young face again, 

The thought of how he lived in heaven's smile, 
Frank, loyal, generous and free from guile, — 
'Tis this sustains our stricken hearts the while. 

Hard though the blow, and bitter though the test. 
Surely God's wisdom knew what thing was best 
When from our side He took him to His breast. 

For who can tell how youthful feet may range ? 
Who knows what f oUies may the heart estrange ? 
But now he'll never grieve us, never change. 

[82] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

And ever as we come to where he Ues, 
Faith, Hke an angel pointing to the skies, 
Will still reveal him to our loving eyes, 

Forever young, and happy with a joy 
That nothing can diminish or destroy : 
Forever as we saw him last — a boy ! 



[83] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Childher 

(An Irish Mother Speaks) 

A H, sure, without the childher, now, I don't 
-^^ know what I'd do at all, 
'Twould be the same old story, every day, an' 

nothing new at all ! 
'Tis thrue, they are a throuble, an' I'm often almost 

wild with them — 
But what about the times when I am just another 

child with them? 
When all their fun an' frolic makes the very rafters 

ring again. 
An' I, with all my years, am led to join them when 

they sing again? 
When Patsy (that's the eldest — he that has the 

roguish glance with him — ) 
He fairly dhrags me in to show the girls how I can 

dance with him? 
When Mary (that's my second) plays the tunes of 

other days to me — 
An' she not knowing half the things, poor child, the 

music says to me ? — 

[84] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

When I can see around me every youthful face love- 

Ht for me, 
An' feel that all their merriment's intended, every 

bit, for me ? — 
Ah, then, in spite of all the work, the worry and 

bewildherment, 
I'm thanking God He gave me this : to know what 

little childher meant ! 

Ah, sure without the childher 'tis myself might take 

it aisier ; 
But would I be much better off because I might be 

lazier ? 
My hand it might be whiter, an' I'd have more rings 

to wear on it, 
But would my heart be lighter if I had no mother- 
care on it ? 
An' tell me how I'd spend the day — I'm thinkin' 

'twould be weary, now. 
If I could not be looking out for Patsy an' for Mary, 

now. 
Or some one or another of the little lives so dear to 

me. 
An' thinkin', are they safe an' sound? an' wishin' 

they were near to me ; 
An' kissin' them when they came in, an' layin' lovin' 

hold on them, 

[8s 1 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

An' askin' if they're wet, for fear they'd maybe have 

a cold on them. 
An' smiHn' to see Michael draw each lovin' little 

one to him, 
An' laughin' when the youngest one, the toddler, 

tries to run to him. 
'Tis thrue, the world is filled with care, we suffer 

every day from it. 
But, ah, the Uttle childher, sure, they lure our 

hearts away from it ! 

The house that has the childher is the house that has 

the joy in it. 
To me 'tis only home that has a girleen or a boy 

in it. 
An' every one that's added only makes the place 

the cheerier ; 
If childher are the gifts of God, the more He sends 

the merrier. 
Sure, every little one I've had gave something to 

my bliss the more, 
An' every little baby face my lips were drawn to 

kiss the more, 
An' though I know the throuble an' the thrial an' 

the care they are, 
An' though I know how often wild, how wayward an' 

how quare they are, 

[861 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

An' though 'tis many a night I've watched beside 

the Uttle beds of them, 
An' held their Httle hands an' cooled the fevered little 

heads of them ; 
An' though I know the surly moods that fall upon 

the best of them — 
Can one who is unkind outweigh the love of all the 

rest of them? 
No, no, the throuble that I've had, through them, 

I'll never rue at all, 
An' sure, without the childher, now, I don't know 

what I'd do at all ! 



87 1 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Signs of Spring 



OIGNS of spring? Well, in the country 

There are things to hear and see, 
Many sweet and stirring portents 

Of the happy time to be. 
But the crocus can't come growing 

Through the shining asphalt sheets. 
And the bluebird dare not venture 

To invade the city streets. 
Came there any vagrant robin, 

Could we hear his timid note 
With the thousand, thousand whistles, 

Each a roaring brazen throat? 
No, the chatter from the tree-tops 

And the piping from the marsh — 
These are lost to those who labor 

In the city hoarse and harsh. 

But there are some signs unfailing 

That the city people know 
Mark the sure and swift departure 

Of the time of frost and snow. 
Though we may not see the grackle, 

That dark pioneer of spring ; 
[88] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Though we may not glimpse the bluebird, 

May not hear the robin sing ; 
Though we're far from peeping crocus, 

Far from softly swelling buds ; 
Though we hear not the rejoicing 

Of the liberated floods, 
Yet it fills our souls with promise. 

And it stirs our hearts with hope, 
When the boys are playing marbles. 

And the girls are jumping rope. 

Yes, some morning when we're weary 

Of the winter's dreary reign. 
And we're wondr'ing will the summer 

Ever, ever come again ; 
Faring forth in bitter weather. 

Dust in eyes, and dust in mouth. 
When we're envying the people 

Who can winter in the South — 
Then, behold, a group of small boys 

Playing marbles in a ring ! 
And, behold, a twirling jump-rope 

That the little lassies swing ! 
Signs of spring ? Come forth, my spirit, 

Nevermore in gloom to grope. 
For the boys are playing marbles, 

And the girls are jumping rope ! 

[89] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Fanny Fuss-and-Feathers 

]^rOW, Fanny Fuss-and-Feathers is the prettiest of 

^^ girls; 

She's washed and starched and ironed from her 

"gaiters to her curls. 
Her satins are the glossiest, her silks are of the 

sheerest ; 
And everything that's on her is the latest and the 

dearest. 
But Fanny, if you knew her mind, would very 

much prefer 
To dress like Sadie Smith and, oh, to go and play 

with her ! 

For Sadie Smith in gingham goes ; she wears an old 

straw hat ; 
Her shoes are somewhat rusty, and their heels are 

rather fiat ; 
She wrestles with her brothers and she frolics with 

the pup, 
And when a body plays like that how can she keep 

"fixed up"? 

[90I 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

But Fanny Fuss-and-Feathers, when she passes 

Sadie's yard, 
There's something rises in her throat that makes 

her swallow hard. 

Now, Fanny Fuss-and-Feathers has a great big 

touring car, 
And every day she's taken out to travel fast and far ; 
She sees a lot that Sadie Smith, perhaps, will never 

see, 
And goes to lovely places where poor Sadie'll never 

be. 
And yet, with all her riches and the things that go 

therewith, 
This funny little Fanny wishes she were Sadie 

Smith ! 



91] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Nice Man 

A MAN goes by here every day 

To catch the nine-eleven 
(Kate says that workin' that-a-way 

Must surely be like heaven) ; 
An' when he passes by our gate, 

An' sees my brothers' crowd, he 
Jes' tips his hat to me an' Kate, 
An' says, ''Hello", or "Howdy?'' 

An' when the boys are spinnin' tops. 

Or playin' ball or jumpin', 
He very nearly always stops 

An' says, "That's good," or sumpin. 
I guess he likes to see them run 

An' hear them shout an' holler. 
An' once when little Jakey won 

He gave him half a dollar. 

The other men that pass our gate. 
They somehow don't look pleasant ; 

They never tip to me an' Kate, 
An' Dolly — when she's present. 

[92] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

They never ask the boys, ''Who beat?" 

Nor seem to care about them. 
(An' once Kate said she thought the street 

Would be as well without them.) 

But this one man — he ain't like that, 

A-thinkin' of his money. 
He even gives our dog a pat. 

An' asks about my bunny. 
Now, ain't it better to be nice 

To me an' to my brothers 
Than act as if your heart was ice 

(Kate says) like all the others ? 



93 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Daddies and Laddies 

/^ H, the world is filled with daddies 
^^^ Not a place but has its share ; 
And they're loved by little laddies, 

Here, and there, and everywhere ; 
And each little laddie's daddy 

Thinks him better than the rest, 
And each daddy's little laddie 

Loves his own dear daddy best ! 

And there are so many daddies, 

Plain and handsome, poor and rich, 
'Tis a wonder little laddies 

Can distinguish which is which ; 
But at picking out his daddy 

Every laddie stands the test, 
For each daddy's Httle laddie 

Loves his own dear daddy best. 



94] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Little Lady Wide-Awake 

T ITTLE Lady Wide-Awake, 
^~^ Ere the dawn begins to break, 
Opens up her eyes, and then 
Won't go back to sleep again. 
Can't be frightened, can't be coaxed, 
Can't be bribed and can't be hoaxed ; 
Let the world say what it may. 
Wide-awake she's bound to stay. 

Were she but content to lie 
Silent, e'en as you and I ; 
Were she one that would remain 
Quiet 'neath the counterpane, — 
Why, her serfs at least could stay 
Sleeping till the dawn of day ; 
But when she herself's astir. 
All her serfs must wait on her. 



Little Lady Wide-Awake ! 
Little lady, for thy sake, 
Eyes reluctant all must ope, 
Hands reluctant all must grope ; 

[95] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Minds reluctant must come back 
O'er the drowsy, dreamy track ; 
All must be alert to show 
That their duty well they know. 
Your commands they all must take, 
Little Lady Wide-Awake. 



96 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Sad Poor Little Faces 

TF twinty goolden pounds I had, 
-■- Or, betther, twinty guineas, 
'Tis quickly I would run, bedad, 

An' change thim into pinnies ; 
An' thin I'd walk the world for miles, 

Through all the barest places. 
An' faith I think I'd put some smiles 

On sad poor little faces. 

For many's the lad I know full well, 

Bare-futted, cowld and skinny, 
And many's the girl, the thruth to tell, 

Would jump to see a pinny. 
I'm but a rough ould rogue meself , 

An' through the towns they bawl me. 
But faith if I could show such pelf, 

'Tis just a saint they'd call me. 

I wandher here, I wandher there, 

A rambler and a rover, 
I see the hedges whin they're bare, 

An' whin with green grown over. 

[97] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

An' whin I see the rich in state 

Go by with mothers flashin', 
I think of One divinely great 

Who rode in humbler fashion. 

I see the sorrows of the poor, 

An', more than that, I feel thim, 
I know the hardships they endure, 

None betther can reveal thim. 
An' whin I see the little ones, 

The Patsies and the Jinnies, 
'Tis thin my heart on money runs, 

'Tis thin I long for pinnies ! 

An' if the goolden coins I found, 

Old Ireland's roads I range thim. 
I'd walk unto the great seas' bound — 

But first of all I'd change thim. 
I'd change thim into copper pince, 

And search the barest places, 
And put a smile — and think 'twas sinse — 

On sad poor little faces ! 



98] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Robin Goodfellow 

In the town where the author was born and reared, it was 
a belief firmly held by the children that the ruined medieval 
castle of Ormond was haunted by Robin Goodfellow who 
loved peace and retirement and hated noise. 

"D OUND the town we used to run, 

Happy-hearted boys at play, 
There was none to spoil our fun, 

None to say us nay. 
But 'twas carefully we walked, 
And 'twas cautiously we talked, 
When we passed the castle gate ! 
For, behind there lay in wait — 

Wakeful, watchful, wise and wary — 
Some one who might jump and snatch us, 
Some one who might run and catch us. 
Some one who was death on boys 
If he found them making noise, — 
Robin Goodfellow, the fairy. 

Robin Goodfellow ! That name 
Filled our hearts with vague alarms. 

He might strike us bUnd or lame. 
Work a hundred harms. 

[99] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Lock us in the castle keep 
Fling us in some dungeon deep, 
Hold us by his magic power 
In some lone and lofty tower 
Of his castle old and airy, 
Far from bold and brave big brothers, 
Far from fathers and from mothers. 
Where we could no longer play. 
Only pine and pine away, — 
Robin Goodfellow, the fairy I 

Guardian of the ruined wall. 
Warder of the rusted gate. 

Does your presence still appal 
Children up to date? 

Do they still believe you there? 

Do they still of you beware — 
Walking softly, talking low. 
As we used to, long ago ? — 

Knees a-tremble, spirits scary — 

Fearful lest you nimbly nab them. 

Fearful lest you grimly grab them — 
Do you still suppress the noise 
And the naughtiness of boys, 
Robin Goodfellow, the fairy? 

Trains and telephones and books 
Chase the fairies day by day, 

[lOO] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

From the haunted fields and nooks 

Where they once held sway. 
How can shy, elusive elves 
Hope to-day to hide themselves? 
How conceal them from the bright 
Glare of Fact's electric light ? 
Yet I hope that Tipperary 
Still retains to quell the riot 
Of the boys, and keep them quiet, 
Hirrj whose name when I was young 
Many a time has stilled my tongue, — 
Robin Goodf ellow the fairy ! 



[lOl] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Playing Bear 

XX/HEN my papa plays bear with me 

I know he's my papa, you see ; 
I know he's not a bear, and yet, 
I'm awful scared of him, you bet ! 

For my papa, he growls so deep, 
He kind of makes a fellow creep ; 
And, oh, he makes such faces, too, 
Just when he's going to spring on you ! 

So when I run from him, and hide 
Away around by mama's side — 
It isn't make believe with me — 
I'm just as scared as I can be. 

Behind the door he Ues in wait. 
For folks, he says, that stay out late, 
When I pass by, he gives a roar 
And drags me in behind the door ! 

And, oh, we make such noises when 
I face Old Growler in his den — 
I know he's my papa, and yet 
I*m awful scared of him, you bet. 
[102] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

But sometimes mama says : ''Now, Pap, 
Don't play so hard with Little Chap," 
And then the big bear laughs, and then 
He's just my own papa again ! 



[103 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Paste Pot and Shears 

"ITZ AS it I, I wonder, used to dream of fame ? 
^ ^ Used to think of some day making quite a 

name ? 
Used to paint a future bright with rosy tints — • 
First of all the men that make the leading prints. 
Recognized as foremost literary light, 
Writing stuff that no one else on earth could write. 
Lordy, what a come down ! After all the years 
Here I am a slave to a paste pot and a shears ! 

Was it I, I wonder, used to welcome spring ? 
Used to warble blithely as the robins sing? 
Used to rave of sunsets, used to rant of bowers. 
Used to fill my rhymes with blossoms, buds and 

flowers ? 
Soul attuned to beauty, heart with love aglow. 
Was it I, I wonder, used to ramble so ? 
Lo, the anti-climax ! Matter meet for jeers ! 
Here I am a slave to a paste pot and a shears ! 

Was it I, I wonder ? Ah, but hf e is strange ! 
Strange and cold and hard, to work so sad a change. 
[104] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Watering and weak'ning inspiration's wine, 

Substituting caution for the dream divine. 

"Hush, you fool!" says Wisdom, ''something has 

been won ! 
Olden days of hardship happily are done." 
Out upon such preaching! Must the dreams of 

years 
Dwindle down at last to a paste pot and a shears ? 



[105 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



The Newspaper Poet 

npHE newspaper poet's a commonplace fellow — 
The humblest may know what his poetry 
means. 
But clearness is treason, and so, for this reason, 
He never gets into the big magazines. 

Let others create what is hazy or crazy, 

He makes no pretensions to being profound ; 
He's sure, though he rise to the height of the skies, 
to 
Be found right side up when he lights on the 
ground. 

He's never a cynical, soreheaded critic, 

Who feels that the heart of mankind is untrue ; 

He never gets dreary, but happy and cheery 
His vision of life is an optimist's view. 

He's hopelessly fond of the commonplace people. 

He gilds with a glory the everyday things. 
And lives that have drifted from God are uplifted 
And strengthened and saved by the songs that he 
sings ! 

fio61 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

And so toward the commonplace newspaper poet 
The heart of the people most lovingly leans, 

His versification is dear to the nation 
Though strictly taboo to the big magazines ! 



[107 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



Spring on Boston Common 

CPRING on the Common, 

Green grass growing, 
Gray trees showing 

Tiny buds ; 
Fountain playing, 
Young men straying. 
Girls displaying 

Daring duds. 

Spring on the Common, 
Children leaping, 
Old folk creeping 

In the shine, 
Pigeons strutting, 
Squirrels nutting, 
Sparrows butting 

In, to dine. 

Spring on the Common, 
Frog Pond sailors. 
Busy as nailers 
O'er their toys, 
fioSl 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 

Sailing, splashing, 
Wading, clashing, 
Sometimes smashing — 
''Oh, them boys!" 

Spring on the Common, 
Spouters spouting, 
Shouters shouting, 

Leathern lunged ; 
Babies sprawling. 
Mothers calHng, 
Fathers bawling 

Babel-tongued. 

Spring on the Common, 
Same old story — 
Linked in glory. 

Lovers stand ; 
Theirs the vernal 
Bliss supernal. 
Theirs the eternal 

Spring stirred land ! 



[109] 



HEART SONGS AND HOME SONGS 



A Last Word 

TVyTY dreams were once about myself, 

•*■ They used to give me power and pelf, 

They crowned me with a world-wide fame, 

A spacious life, a noble name. 

And every dream of future glory 

Made me the hero of the story. 

But note the change — no longer I 
The stage's centre occupy ; 
No more on me and only me 
The spot-light falls exclusively. 
Not for myself I dream this minute. 
But for the world and all men in it 1 



[no] 



There are freshness and melody in Mr, McCarthy's verses. — 
New York Sun. 



A ROUND OF RIMES 



By DENIS A. McCARTHY 

Author of *' Heart Songs and Home Songs' 

16mo. Cloth. $1.00 net 



This new and enlarged edition of "A Round of 
Rimes" contains his melodious "Ah, Sweet is Tip- 
perary," and many other of his choicest poems, to- 
gether with some of his latest compositions. 

Mr. McCarthy, associate editor of the Sacred Heart Re- 
view, is the author of a number of felicitous lyrics, with the 
full Irish flavor, lilt, music and tenderness, a natural singer 
from the land of minstrel boys. — Boston Transcript. 



BY THE SAME AUTHOR 

VOICES FROM ERIN 

AND OTHER POEMS 

16mo. Cloth. 11.00 net 

Mr. McCarthy's music is pure and sweet, and almost uni- 
versal in its sympathy. Scarcely a sentiment of the heart 
escapes the scrutiny of his pen. — Boston Globe. 



LITTLE, BROWN & COMPANY, Publishers 
34 BEACON STREET, BOSTON 



